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One-on-One
Monday, January 9, 2012
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By Ron Cherubini
Staff Features
Writer |
Riley
reflects and looks ahead
A
Freewheeling Q&A
with ECU Offensive Coordinator Lincoln Riley
By
Ron Cherubini
©2012 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
With the 2011 season
fading into the rearview mirror, East Carolina's players are ramping
back up for next semester and the hard-pushing of Camp Connors till
spring ball starts. Signing Day is just around the corner and football,
never far from the forefront of the Pirate Nation's collective
consciousness, is edging back into the headlines.
It's as
good a time as any to check in with ECU offensive coordinator Lincoln
Riley to get a sense of what he's thinking as 2012 begins to take shape.
A bit of a reflection on last season and a some insight into his
perceptions right now about the players he will be working with in the
upcoming campaign would seem in order.
The 2011
season might best be considered one that, in absence of wins and a bowl
game, provided an abundance of perspective for the young and talented
OC. It was a season that, without a doubt, was a disappointing one but
it was also a campaign that revealed a number of things offensively,
that should bode well for the near future — 2012 — and beyond.
Last
season Riley experienced what his colleague, defensive coordinator Brian
Mitchell, had to painfully endure in 2010 — an inordinate number of
injuries. The attrition left the offense unable to settle into a rhythm
and the result was an unusually high number of turnovers. Turnovers were
way up… offensive scoring was significantly down... and we the results
were apparent.
But in
the face of that adversity, there were a lot of positives. Like the
emergence of some real stud — and young — wide receivers. Or… depth on
the offensive line. Despite the injuries, the offense cut its penalties
down drastically. Though its production was down, it wasn’t down by much
and the Pirates, young guys aside, were equally devastating in the red
zone and improved third down efficiency.
Coach
Riley was kind enough to engage in a lengthy one-on-one, off-season
interview and was forthcoming with his thoughts on 2011 and on the
future:
Bonesville (BV): Hi, Coach. Can you take a moment to reflect on last
season? Didn’t quite go as scripted as you found yourself living some of
Coach Mitchell’s 2010 nightmare.
Lincoln Riley (LR): Well, it was tough. I mean you’ve put in a
lot of work both the coaches and the players and you to the point (at
the season’s beginning) where you think you can do some good things. You
know, it’s a part of the game… certainly you don’t imagine it will
happen to the extent it did with us… we lost 14 players for a total of
41 games… that certainly makes it tough. It is a real challenge because
you always expect to have a few (major injuries) but you don’t expect to
have quite as many as we had this year. It makes things tough because
you end up having to play some younger guys who maybe aren’t ready —
maybe they are — but you find out some positives, too.
It
didn’t make us better then, but having gone through it, it makes us
better now getting those young guys experience. When somebody gets
injured, you know, everyone moves up a spot so somebody’s role
increases. Guys like Reese Wiggins, and Zico (Pasut) and Josh Clark and
I could go on down the list, but there are lot of guys who ended up
playing a lot of snaps — Derrick Harris being another one of them — than
they were probably going to.
BV:
So, from a forward-looking perspective, last year’s misery could be this
year’s joy…?
LR:
Like I said, it didn’t make us better during the season, but it
will benefit us down the road. Consequently, originally heading into
this year, we were going to be an offense that maybe didn’t return as
much experience (losing Dominique (Davis), Lance (Lewis), (Michael)
Bowman, (Joe) Womack). Now all of a sudden we return just about everyone
who was playing for us at the end and that is exciting now. Of course it
was disappointing then because we didn’t play as well as we expected,
but there is always a positive in it for those guys who are returning
really hungry and now with a lot more snaps under their belts. It bodes
well for the future.
BV:
Do you get the sense that the guys who are coming back see it the same
way, heading into 2012?
LR:
I met with the offensive guys after (the last game) and I
told them… I said, ‘The older guys — our seniors this year — had to go
through a hard time this year. We had injuries, we didn’t accomplish our
goals, so the championships and wins we talk about now are in the future
and are your responsibility now. The seniors had to endure the injuries
and the tough things that go with. Now that you guys have all this
experience and the tools to win, we better make sure that we work and
get everyone doing their part to make sure those seniors can go off
having contributed (to championships).’
Those
guys are heavily responsible for the success I know we are about to
have.
BV:
Sticking with the topic of last season, as a coach, you too are a
competitor. How do you keep your composure when you have lost so many
key players and see some of the mistakes and have some of the
opportunities to win go by without the success?
LR:
Well… I know that the players look to me and react to what they
are seeing from me, so if I go around making a lot of excuses and if I
get disappointed and hang my head or show that I am frustrated, then
that is the first thing they are going to do. We talk about adversity
and that we have to be able to handle it. I thought that we had some
phenomenal games where we demonstrated that we can handle adversity
extremely well. The Central Florida game being one of the better games
we played as a team and going into that without so many pieces. And,
there were some times that we didn’t (handle adversity well). But this
team… I was proud there wasn’t one play all year offensively where we
didn’t play with great effort and that says a lot about our guys with
the type of season we went through. The majority of these guys coming
back — which is just about all of them — are very prepared for
(adversity) if it comes around again. Of course, I was a little
disappointed and I talked to one of my mentors who I have trusted for a
long-long time and he said, ‘You do the best you can.' I think our
players did that each and every week and these players will continue to
do that next year and we look forward to having that group back and,
hey, we’re ready to go (for spring).
BV:
You consistently talk about the turnovers, negative plays, and
penalties. Overall, you look at the numbers from last season and you are
not all that off on a lot of the positive indicators and not as many
negatives as you would have expected given the team’s final record.
Share your thoughts on that?
LR:
Sure. No question, the turnovers were a killer. You can’t be as good
as we want to be and turn the ball over like that. I was really
proud of how we cut down the penalties… our guys did a phenomenal job of
that (nearly 50% improvement). Obviously, we had that rash of fumbles
early. You try to come up with answers… some cases our guys didn’t
protect the ball and other cases the other guys made good plays… having
so many young guys who are inexperienced touching the ball it is
understandable especially in today’s college game where it is like the
officials don’t have whistles anymore. The referees know they always can
replay it and get it fixed so the whistle’s now are basically non-exist.
I think our guys need to adjust to that. We definitely have to do a
better job coaching… we did a much better job with fumbles the second
half of the season. We dropped some balls and had a few breaks go
against us.
Definitely, the turnovers are going to be the number one emphasis going
into spring ball. You start to look at who maybe is going to be the next
quarterback and it will be the guy who turns it over the least who is
going to have a darn good shot it because that is something that we will
be placing a premium on and an area in which I am going to do a better
job coaching. I have already made the point to the guys who are coming
back that we are going to play the guys who don’t turn the ball over
because we have a chance to be a really good team and we are not going
to give the other team extra possessions. We did that way too much this
year and it is something we must improve on.
BV: I
mentioned the statistical comparison from 2010 to 2011… that straight
look at stats tell you much?
LR:
They do tell you things. The numbers do not lie. The numbers tell you
that we were still an explosive team that can put up big numbers any
time we are on the field. Looking at the numbers, we were pretty good in
a lot of the categories but the one that really stands out it is the
turnovers and that is really important because it impacts the other
important one, which is scoring average which we were down this year.
Turnovers really deflated us. Ruffin (McNeill) did a study on those
numbers and there were also a lot of positives. We know there were…
look, there were a lot of games where we played extremely well
offensively and there were a lot of young guys who made a bunch of huge
plays. I don’t want to discount those positives… numbers certainly tell
the story of what we did right and what we need to work on.
BV:
One last question on last season. Can you address the signal stealing
topic… give us the final word on that flap?
LR:
(Laugh) …some of our guys don’t know our signals so… The fact is
that it is always a thing, especially when you run a no huddle offense
that you have to use signals. We went through the same (flap) at Texas
Tech. There were a few plays — a couple of specific plays — where
somebody said they thought they saw a signal even though there is
somebody standing there wide open that we didn’t get the ball to for
whatever reason. (The signal stealing) is more of an urban legend, a
chasing ghosts thing. Nobody has our signals. If the defense can get our
signal right before the play, get into the perfect coverage, know where
(QB) reads are and anticipate his decision making, then they are so much
better than us, it doesn’t matter. We change the signals now and then,
too, so I seriously doubt anyone is effectively stealing our signals.
BV:
Shifting to the 2012 season, how are you feeling about recruiting this
season and the recruits that you guys may or may not bring in come that
first week in February?
LR:
I feel fantastic about it, Ron… fantastic. We pretty much have
all of our commitments already… most of them aren’t public yet, which is
probably a good thing for us. There are couple of spots we are looking
to fill and have some candidates who will be visiting in the next few
weeks. You know that is one thing about this staff, it recruits so well.
Of course then also there is Ruffin who is just dynamite in these kids’
houses… just as you would expect he would be. Really, this is probably
the first staff I have been on that everybody just recruits hard. We
have been grinding on the road since the last day of the season and have
never slowed down. You can see it paying off too, as we are getting some
phenomenal, phenomenal kids that if we can hang on to the kids we’ve got
right now, this can be a special, special, special class. I am excited
for signing day to get here and I think it is going to generate a lot of
excitement (for the fans).
BV:
Can we talk personnel… in detail? Anyone who followed Texas Tech during
Mike Leach’s tenure knows that it is possible to have a system where you
have a new quarterback each year, but consistent, nation-leading output
each season… without drop-off. You find yourself looking for the next
standout starter for the 2012 season. Does Rio Johnson head into spring
as the top quarterback to beat or do you reset everything?
LR:
We will reset it. We need to find out where each of them are now.
We told them before we broke (for the holidays) that we expect everyone
to work hard and that we expect it to be apparent in spring ball who
wants it the most. Like we do for any position, we are going to see
where each guy is and narrow it down quickly to the guys who look like
they are ready to go. I could see a scenario where all four quarterbacks
are ready to go. Rio earned the No. 2 job last year and he did it by
coming from behind, really. Honestly Shane (Carden) was probably No. 2
going into (fall) camp. In camp, everybody took a shot at him and Rio
made a nice move and narrowly edged him out. You know Brad (Wornick), of
course, has game experience, the most of all of them really — I know Rio
got some snaps this season, too — but every time Brad has gone into a
game, he has played very well and he has that gamer quality to him so
you (can't) discount him. Shane had a great, great spring and earned the
No. 2 slot going into fall and got a lot of quality snaps (last season)
running the scout squad against our defense and was able to lead and
compete every day. Another thing I like about Shane is that he brings a
real athletic type to (the position) and makes a lot of plays on the
run. We’ve got to get Cody Keith healthy. He had an ankle surgery this
summer and was a little hobbled and is just getting over the hump right
now. Cody showed some really bright things in our Thursday night
scrimmages and he can really throw the football. I think he will be a
little bit of an X factor in the spring. I am eager to see how he does.
Who knows, honestly Ron, right now I could flip a coin and have just as
good a chance of telling you who it is going to be than I would if I had
to pick them on what they’ve already done. Right now we have to give
them all a chance and narrow it down like we always do and it will land
us on the right guy… always does.
BV:
On Rio… you have mentioned how much you love his football IQ growth and
his off-field maturity as compared to where he might have been when you
first met him. Do you see that continuing and is that make or break for
him?
LR:
Yeah… and he better (continue). I have made it very clear to Rio that
it is our way or the highway. He needed to change for the better and he
did that (last spring). I don’t see him backsliding, I don’t. He is a
pretty motivated guy right now and he will have an opportunity to win
the job again. He got a little taste of it last year — got a few snaps —
and played really well at the end of the Southern Miss game last year in
particular. I think he is a good kid who is really motivated right now.
BV:
You mentioned not to count out Brad and you mentioned that he is the
only QB on the roster who got to have some extended game action with
critical snaps in games. If you are not on the depth chart, you can’t
help and Brad seemed to fall off of it last season. How do you keep his
head in it and keep him ready to play?
LR:
Well… you know… it is tough for him… it is having been the No. 2
before. That said, Brad is going to be a senior and it is his last time
around, so if he is going to do it, he has to do it now. He will have to
earn it but I know he has a lot of confidence in himself and he knows he
can play and play well… he has proven that to himself and others. So, I
see him as a guy who can make a move. You know… the thing about Brad is
that he really is a gamer. He is guy who ups his level of play in games
but he has to do it in practice. If he can do that consistently, then he
will be right there in it this spring.
LR:
You and I have talked extensively about some of the realities of this
offensive system when it comes to quarterbacks. You have to sign several
more than maybe other programs do and you end up generally having two,
three, maybe even four who are very talented and who could start
elsewhere. Transfers in this type of system are common. You have a guy
like Shane there who is highly talented and now is getting very antsy.
How do you manage that in such a highly-competitive scenario that we
have here at ECU?
LR:
I am very excited about Shane and how he led the Scout team, which is
something I think is very underrated because he was getting snaps — a
lot of them — against our No. 1 defense. He is learning to lead and
growing as a quarterback… which as good as he is, he needed. He is very
consistent and has a better grasp of the offense now and has matured a
lot. Like I said, he had a heck of a spring last year and he is going to
be much more prepared for this spring. Physically, Shane is the best
quarterback we have. He is pretty big, muscled up, he is able to take
hits, able to run. I really feel good about him and I am really excited
to see him in the spring.
BV:
Then, of course, there is Cody… (who) came in as a highly-touted prep
quarterback. Injury aside, do you feel that he could realistically
compete for a spot on the depth chart this spring?
LR:
I absolutely do. There is a reason we brought him here. He can throw
the ball. He can make plays. He’s a talent now. He can really, really
throw the ball and can move. Even when he was injured and in there he
showed he can compete. He has really gotten a good grasp of what we are
doing here. He is a really competitive kid, too, and is ready to
compete… ready to go. He will be that X factor in the race. I am the
only one who has really seen him throw and play fully healthy... the
other coaches and players haven’t, so I am excited to see how the other
guys react when they can see what he can do when he is really healthy.
BV:
Let’s talk running backs. Last year, you told me that you were really
worried about the position in general not only because of the numbers
being thin, but also because none of the backs seemed to have a full
skillset for the offense. It looks a little then again… are you equally
as worried?
LR:
You know… we certainly took a blow with Reggie (Bullock) last year when
he went out with that freak injury at Navy. That was a big loss because
we were really running the ball well and had gotten into a kind of
rhythm with him back there. He is probably the most natural runner we
have as far as setting up blocks and rarely got less than what he should
have got even if we weren’t blocking well. Obviously Reggie is not the
most physical guy or the biggest guy in the world, but he is a good,
good runner. That might have been one of the top two most important
injuries we had last year and we really did some good things running the
ball when he was in there. Obviously having Reggie back healthy and
having him work with Coach (Jeff) Connors for an entire year getting his
body ready to handle it… I am very excited about him and when he is
healthy, I think he is one of the better running backs in the
conference. So from the perspective of having a back that can do the
job, we have that guy and he has proven. The numbers are still thinner
than we would like, but there are some guys I am excited about and we
are recruiting guys who can compete for the job immediately.
BV:
Anyone in particular you are excited about?
LR:
I am really excited about Hunter Furr. I am eager to get him in
the mix in there. We certainly wish he was eligible last year. He has
shown some real flashes in our Thursday night scrimmages and over on
Scout squad. He is bigger than any back we have right now and probably
the fastest back of all of them, too. I am eager to see what he can do
and have the opportunity to coach him every day to see where he can help
us. I think he could play a good bit for us, too.
BV:
Torrance Hunt seemed to get better each time out. Do you see him in the
mix for the top job as well?
LR:
Torrance really grew as a running back last season and really
helped us. We probably don’t beat Central Florida without him. Torrance
has got to get more consistent catching the ball and running through arm
tackles. I am not sure he can get much bigger, but he is really just
learning how to be a running back. He is an older guy by age, but still
a young running back for us. He has shown some great flashes for us in
critical game situations and I think he can be in the mix because he is
a hard worker and I am eager to see how good he can be with now a full
year at the position.
BV:
And, Michael Dobson?
LR:
Dobson did some good things last year. He was steady for us in a
few games. The thing with Dobson is that he has got to be a little more
explosive for us and he can do that… he made some big runs and I think
having a great year with Coach Connors to learn how we want him to run.
BV:
And how about the redshirt freshman, Chris Hairston?
LR:
Chris got hurt very early in the season and I don’t know if we
will have him for spring ball, it will be very close. He also showed
some flashes of brilliance last year so I hope we can get him in there
and he has certainly got a lot of ability. Chris is a super-talented guy
who needs to get reps.
BV:
Will we see Zico Pasut at running back anymore?
LR:
It is possible. Zico really gave us a lift last season. He didn’t
have any big runs or a lot of yards, but he brought some power to that
position that we were lacking at the end of the season and did some
really, really good things for us. So yeah, I think Zico is a guy we
will use in a lot of different ways, he’s earned that. Part of it will
depend on these (other running backs) and how they develop and part of
it will depend on where his roles are elsewhere in the offense. He
provides punch in a big body.
BV:
Turning our attention to the receiving corps. It seems last season that
we learned that we are, indeed, deep in talent, but we also learned that
talented guys who are also very young, don’t always make the play. With
Lance, Michael, and Joe moving on, how are you feeling about that unit?
Will guys move around… inside to out and vice-versa?
LR:
It is certainly possible that we might move guys around, we’ll
have to see how things shake out in the spring. Last season, Justin
Hardy was probably — he and Will Simmons — were probably our best two
offensive players. Hardy was just fantastic and so he is guy who is
going to be out there somewhere. Everyone saw what Justin Jones can do
and then you have Andrew Bodenheimer outside who you can build around. A
lot of young guys got a lot of reps and that will help us this year.
BV:
Let’s talk about a lot of these guys individually, starting with Justin
Hardy. You mentioned what a great season he had. I know when I watched
him, I forgot he was just a freshman. Were you surprised by his level of
play?
LR:
I have said this before and over again, I truly believe if Justin
continues to work hard and I am sure he will, that by the time he is
done here, Justin Hardy will be one of the all-time best receivers to
have played football at East Carolina…he is just that good. So, no, it
didn’t surprise me. Of course I was happy for him, but I expected it.
Football is very important to Justin and he works hard at it. He is one
of the hardest workers we have. He loves to practice, he loves to play,
he has a great attitude, he is a great student, and he is just that kid
that you always want your son to be like. He’s not perfect, nobody is,
but he tries to do the best he can at everything at all times and we get
it from him on a consistent basis. That is why — along with a lot of
God-given ability — he was able to step up right away as a freshman and
play at the level he did. He has a bright, bright future and yes, it is
exciting for me because I was a walk-on and I love to see guys who get
the opportunity and do with it what Justin has done. Three more years of
him on the field is exciting.
BV:
How about the other Justin… Jones. Good to get him back on the field
there at the end of the season. He didn’t disappoint did he?
LR:
I wish we could have had him for a lot more. I mean, he plays two
games and has 4 touchdowns… that would have been nice to have. Look,
that is what we saw in camp and expected to have this season so his
injury was one of those two most important ones, definitely, that I
mentioned earlier. We all know that a healthy Justin Jones is a great
weapon. Now, we have to continue to find ways to get the ball to him
because he is such a special talent. He does have some growing up to do
and so we are going to push him on that every day and I think he will do
that. What he can do is pretty obvious and he is definitely a priority
that we need to work with and keep improving and to make sure he stays
on the right track. Obviously when you have a tight end who can move
like he can not only in the passing game, but when he is moving he can
be a great blocker too. So we really missed him last year and are glad
he is back and healthy.
BV:
How about the younger Harris… Derrick. Did you expect the consistency
and level of play that Dwayne’s little brother brought out there last
season?
LR:
Yeah, I have to admit it was a little bit of (a surprise). Derrick
got an opportunity and made the most of it. He is certainly one of the
more improved players that we have seen since we have been here. He’s a
dependable guy… you throw it to him, he is going to catch it. He had the
big touchdown catch against Memphis that got us started in that game and
he’s had some big first down catches for us. He is a good blocker, too.
He does everything we ask him to do so I wasn’t that surprised but I was
happy to see him do what he did with his chances. I am glad he
transferred here and now will have a chance to help us more next year.
BV:
You were excited about Danny Webster from the jump last spring and the
true freshman finished the year — up to his injury — getting better each
time out. First, how is the injury and then please talk about Danny and
where he can go in this offense?
LR:
Yeah… Danny will be back and all healed up. He has some work to
do on it, but he has time to heal. I would expect him to be ready to go
(for spring). I think he did get better as the season went on. You know
he turned the ball over too many times early in the season, but then he
really did sort of shed the true freshman (skin) and was playing well
(when he was injured). Danny is a coachable kid who takes what we tell
him and does it well. He is fearless which you have to be to play at
that level and he made a lot of big plays for us. He is another one who
I am excited to see have a full year with Jeff (Connors) to get bigger,
stronger, faster and he is a receiver we are really excited to have for
three more years.
BV:
Sticking with young receivers… where the hell did Reese Wiggins — the
one exploding for long touchdowns — come from? He seemed to just sort of
explode out there.
LR:
Reese… again… kind of like Derrick… Reese got a few opportunities and
really made the most of them. We always knew Reese had that ability but
it was about being consistent and he really, he was very consistent
there at the end of the season when he was getting his opportunities. He
did a great job and showed he can be explosive and a force to be
reckoned with. He has a great shot to take one of the jobs this year. He
has to keep improving and he gained a lot of confidence and is an
example of the guy who had success, gained confidence and then it
translated to harder work. Now we know we don’t have to coach up his
confidence, he is ready to get out there again.
BV:
Can he be Lance Lewis good?
LR:
Really, they are really different types of receivers. Lance was
bigger and a little more of a jump ball guy who goes up (and) gets it.
Reese is much more explosive with the football in his hands. You know he
had two or three touchdowns this year longer than any that Lance had
while he was here. Reese can go… he is a better runner with the
football. I am glad we have him for several more years and we can coach
him up. But I think he could have (a Lance Lewis) type of impact on our
offense if he keeps progressing.
BV:
It seemed this season that Andrew Bodenheimer’s name didn’t seem to be
called that much. Is he expected to re-establish himself this year.
LR:
Now Bodie… he had a pretty darn good year this year. He caught a
bunch of balls and probably played more snaps than anyone last season. I
think he is a guy we are going to build it around next year. He is
without question one of the very best blocking receivers I have ever
been around or coached. He is a tenacious player and the kind of worker
and person we want in our program. He leads that outside receiver group
and will be one of those bell cows for us for leadership and playmaking.
I love that guy… I love that kid and I think he is very motivated for
his senior season, which is a good thing for our team.
BV:
What is up with Dayon Arrington? He sort of vanished this season.
LR:
Dayon definitely started out slow last year and then came on at the
end of the season and did some really good things. We are deep enough
that you just can afford to start slow. Now, Dayon has ability and has
playing experience from 2010 and I think he can make plays for us, but
he has to start fast for us this spring and he knows that. He is another
senior for us and another guy who expects to be a part of what we are
doing. It is going to be competitive but he certainly has the ability to
go out there and play like he did in 2010 and earn a position.
BV:
And Mike Price?
LR:
For Mike, a little bit of it was that he had some injuries. Mike
needs to increase his durability, no question. We were really excited
about Mike going into the season, but it just never really happened for
him. It is important for Mike to mature, physically… he has to get
himself physically where his body can take the toll. We are working with
him to get there. There simply are not many guys out there more
explosive than Mike when he is on his game.
BV:
How about some of the other young guys, like Donte Sumpter, Antonio
Cannon, Torian Richardson?
LR:
Cannon and Sumpter can both make some noise, no question, this
season. Cannon had a really, really good year in Thursday night
practices. He has to get better physically… get acclimated more to the
weight room. His off-season will be big for him. But, he is a playmaker…
he is. (He is) the one that reminds me most of Lance. He isn’t a big,
big guy, but he finds a way to come down with the ball. Sumpter did some
good things too, running around catching the ball. He is a smart kid and
pretty dependable too and is deceptively fast and good with the ball in
his hands.
BV:
For all of the airing out of the football and the stars that creates on
the field, I know that your favorite players on the offense are the
offensive linemen, so I saved that for last. Last season, it looked like
the starting five that opened the season were pretty good… and then the
injuries mounted. We you were pleased by what you saw from those guys
before the all the injuries?
LR:
We were hit pretty hard right away with injuries. In fact, there was
only one time all season where we were able to start the same five guys
in back-to-back games. (That) is tough is because the offensive line is
the ultimate in continuity… it’s not like a receiver where you can just
plug another guy in there — when an offensive line guy, especially when
some of these guys were having to play positions they never played
before, goes down, is not that easy to plug-in without affecting the
others. I am excited about that group. We played pretty well in the run
game all year and at times we were good enough at running back to take
advantage of it and at times we were not. I felt we were solid there,
but we have to have a running back who can take advantage of it. We were
extremely physical, much more so than the year before so I am excited
about that. And so we have to build continuity and depth, particularly
at the tackle position. Of course, we have to find a way to keep these
guys healthy. Some of it is luck and some of it is practicing the right
way and preparing for that. Every time we got some continuity or rhythm
it seemed like we would get an injury. You know those guys are really
coming together. You are basically talking about a bunch of sophomores
who never played this much before in their lives but are a really
hungry, confident, and motivated group heading into the spring. We need
to find a left tackle, but really we return everyone else… some of our
young guys from our first recruiting class are going to be right in the
mix, too, especially Chaz Lowery and Isaac Harris — those two look like
they are going to be ready sooner than later.
BV:
Let’s get into the weeds on these guys, starting with Jordan Davis. You
moved him inside to guard and seemed to be a pretty darn good one. Does
Jordan stay there now?
LR:
We would like to keep him there since it is his best position,
which we have known all along. He was our best option at left tackle
last year until Steven Baker came along and then we were able to move
Jordan to his natural position at guard. He was extremely physical and
confident in there and I think after a year there, he will be one of the
most physical and gifted guards in the conference. He is a very good
balance to Will (Simmons) on the side.
BV:
Other side, with Will, he really appeared to be that beast you were
so excited about last spring. Did he exceed your expectations?
LR:
We expected him to be good, but he did surprise, too. He was incredibly
consistent. He played really only one poor game all year. For a
sophomore and for the one guy who played every game, that consistency is
really very good. Will always does a great job… always working… I am so
proud of him and how he played last season. He might be our most
consistent player on the entire offense. Plus he is growing into a great
emotional leader for the group. I wish I had five more just like him…
really… he can become that leader in his last couple of years and he is
where it starts up front for us.
BV:
You know center was just a mess for you guys last season and you knew it
going in and you end up there sort of finding Josh Clark via attrition.
Is he a guy that could really lock in there for you guys?
LR:
Oh yeah… Josh was just great. Look at the Marshall game… we ran
off 14 points on two-straight possessions, Josh goes down, and we got
stuck. Not saying it was Doug’s fault… but Josh is (a) really good
center. What he did on short notice… I’ve personally never seen a guy do
anything like it. He communicated and executed right away at a high
level.
BV:
Sticking with Josh… did you guys not see that in practice before the
attrition at center with the injuries?
LR:
Well… we weren’t really looking at the time. He was playing tackle
for us and we had some centers and we didn’t feel like we were going to
need him there. We just really didn’t think we needed him inside and he
was in the mix at tackle (for a job). With Doug and Hugh, we didn’t
think we could get him any work there either. All (of a) sudden, Doug is
down, Hugh is down, we scramble and here we are. It was unforeseen…
absolutely Josh stays at center. He was just fantastic in those last two
games. He will be a senior… a coach’s kid… has played the position.
Looking forward to going into the spring with a center like him ready to
go.
BV:
Looking at the depth at center… is Mack Helms still in the mix? Can
walk-on C.J. Struyk be an every-play center at this level?
LR:
Mack has a nagging injury. We will see if he heals up, which is the
best way to say it right now. I really do think C.J. can be a center
here. He’s a kid who came in and got snaps early in camp last year and
showed that he can play the position. He is one of the strongest guys we
got, I can tell you that, and a real good snapper, so I see no reason
why C.J. can’t help us at that position.
BV:
Can Taylor Hudson earn a job in the interior this season?
LR:
Taylor is another guy we worked some at center and he can play guard
— either side — as well. He has a lot of ability… but it is time for
him to put it all together now. He can play all three interior positions
which makes him very valuable for us… he needs to be ready because he
can really help us this year.
BV:
Let’s talk about the position you are a little more concerned with, the
tackle spots. What happened in there last season with Grant Harner? Was
he injured or did he get beat out there at the end?
LR:
Grant got hurt pretty bad last season and toughed it out and played
through it, especially in the Southern Miss game. He didn’t play well
against Houston last year but responded well after that, but then he got
hurt and really couldn’t play at the level he expects to, which set us
and him back. The only way to say it is that Grant took it for the team
— he is so unselfish. Grant will be healthy and motivated to be a
starter this spring and we need him that way, really.
BV:
You mentioned earlier that we need to find a left tackle. Adhem Elsawi
seemed to be pretty solid there. Does Elsawi stay at left tackle?
LR:
Elsawi can play both tackle spots so he is very valuable to us… I
think he will stay at left tackle. Losing him in the Houston game really
hurt because he was playing so well. He brings a lot of size and
strength to that position and I think he will be at one of the tackle
spots this year.
BV:
You already mentioned that both Chaz Lowery and Isaac Harris are way
ahead of schedule developmentally and you expect them both to compete
this spring for playing time next season. Any other guys you think
deserve mention here?
LR:
I think Drew Gentry will be a factor this time around. He played
well against UTEP last season and showed us he has the ability but he
has to get stronger in the weight room to contend. He is a good kid, a
smart kid, motivated and with good athleticism… his off-season in the
weight room will determine whether he challenges in spring.
BV:
One last question Lincoln… off-topic. Your old boss, Mike Leach, is back
in business now out there in Washington State. A few of your coach-mates
have gone out there with him. Did you get a call from Coach Leach?
LR:
Yeah, I have spoken to him. You know, I am really happy for him
and glad he is back (coaching). I think he can do a great job out there
rebuilding that program.
BV:
Lincoln… I think you know what I meant. Did he call you?
LR:
Yeah… I knew what you meant. I was just trying to avoid the
question. I love it here and I am not going anywhere. I am looking
forward very much to this spring and getting going again.
E-mail
Ron Cherubini
PAGE UPDATED
01/09/12 11:27 AM.
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